European Animal Research Association

12/10/2026

👀 What are you seeing here?

A mouse with two optic fibres implanted, allowing researchers to manipulate the activity of neurones in the brain while the animal is freely moving. This technique allows scientists to link brain activity to actions such as learning, recalling memories and decision-making. 🧠

See more images of animal research on EARA's media bank.
🔗 https://www.eara.eu/transparency/media-bank

📍 Where: Netherlands
📸 Credit: Radboud University

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09/10/2026

Xtalks webinar series examines the role of monkeys in translational research

The Bioculture Cares and EARA have partnered with Xtalks Webinars to launch a four-part webinar series on the science, regulation and responsible use of non-human primates (NHPs) in biomedical research.

The first session, held on 25 September, explored how NHP studies have contributed to medical progress and how they fit alongside emerging alternatives.

Speakers included Andrea Varrone from EARA member Karolinska Institutet, who described how research in animals, including cynomolgus monkeys, led to a brain-scan tracer now used in clinical practice to support the diagnosis and prognosis of Parkinson’s disease. Thierry Decelle from DCL Solutions gave an overview of the historical contributions of NHPs to biomedical research. Gourav Roy-Choudhury from Franklin Biolabs discussed how animal studies and new approach methodologies (NAMs) work together to assess the safety of advanced therapies, including gene therapies and RNA vaccines.

The next webinar, on 14 December, will explore NHP research in diseases that need urgent solutions.

Learn more: 🔗 https://www.eara.eu/news/xtalks-webinar-series-examines-the-role-of-monkeys-in-translational-research

The Bioculture Group and EARA have partnered with Xtalks – The Life Science Community™ to launch a four-part webinar series on the science, regulation and responsible use of non-human primates (NHPs) in biomedical research. The first session, held on 25 September, explored how NHP studies have c...

08/10/2026

Spain supports the use of animals in research 🇪🇸

A poll in Spain addressing public perception regarding animals has found that one in two people supports the use of animals in research.

The Fundación BBVA asked 2,020 people over eighteen years old about animal rights and related issues. Overall, 16% said the use of animals in research was not a problem at all and 34% viewed it as a minor problem. Research using animals for veterinary purposes had the highest level of acceptance, followed by animal use for food and research to improve human health.

Lluís Montoliu, vice-director of EARA member Spanish National Centre for Biotechnology, told elpais.bo that scientific advancements can reduce the use of animals in research but they are still indispensable.

Learn more: 🔗 https://www.eara.eu/news/spain-supports-the-use-of-animals-in-research

A poll in Spain addressing public perception regarding animals has found that one in two people supports the use of animals in research. The BBVA Foundation asked 2.020 people over eighteen years old, defining age and gender quotas to reach a representative group, their views on animal rights and is...

08/10/2026

What Does Animal Research Really Look Like? 📸

Our fourth EARA Webinar brings together communications and animal welfare professionals with expertise in institutional photography, scientific video and virtual laboratory tours. Through practical examples, speakers will explore how institutions can provide accurate visual material for the public and media.

📅 Tuesday, 27 October 2026
🕒 15:00–16:30 (CET)
📍 Online – registration is free but mandatory

Learn more: 🔗 https://shorturl.at/094G3

07/10/2026

Diagnosis of patients with a rare disease using flies and AI

By combining studies in flies with artificial intelligence (AI), researchers in the US have identified alterations in a gene that may cause a rare neurodevelopmental condition in ten patients.

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine used AI-MARRVEL, an AI model combining clinical information and genetic analysis, to analyse the genetic sequencing of a child with an undiagnosed developmental condition. It found a rare alteration in a gene called BRSK1 that standard analysis had missed.

Studies in fruit flies showed that BRSK1 is involved in the communication between neurones.

Learn more: 🔗 https://www.eara.eu/news/diagnosis-of-patients-with-a-rare-disease-using-flies-and-ai

By combining studies in flies with artificial intelligence (AI), researchers in the US have identified alterations in a gene that may cause a rare neurodevelopmental condition in ten patients. Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, used AI-MARRVEL, an AI model combining clinical informa...

06/10/2026

From algae to animals: Nobel Prize awarded for technique to study the brain 🏆

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth (Stanford University Howard Hughes Medical Institute), Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries leading to optogenetics, a technique that makes it possible to switch individual neurones in a living brain on or off using light.

It all started with a single-celled alga that swims towards light. Peter Hegemann studied it at the Max - Planck - Gesellschaft and teamed up with Georg Nagel to discover light-sensitive proteins. In 2007, Karl Deisseroth’s lab activated neurones in living mice, controlling the animals’ whisker movements with light.

Since then, optogenetics has revealed which circuits control memory formation, pain, social behaviours, thirst, food consumption, reward and attention.

“By studying animals we can learn […] how our normal healthy brain works but also to understand what happens when it doesn't work properly,” said Anna Wedell of EARA member Karolinska Institutet and member of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine.

Learn more: 🔗 https://www.eara.eu/news/from-algae-to-animals-nobel-prize-awarded-for-technique-to-study-the-brain

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries leading to the development of optogenetics, a technique that makes it possible to switch individual neurones in a living brain on or off using light. For decades, resear...

06/10/2026

Tiny blood clots guide placental development in mice

Research in Germany on pregnant mice showed that tiny blood clots regulate maternal blood flow through the placenta to support healthy development.

A team at EARA member Medizinische Hochschule Hannover/ MHHnova used pregnant mice with genetic modifications to genes related to blood clotting and immune pathways. The study showed that pregnancy requires a careful balance between clotting and bleeding. The researchers will now investigate whether the same mechanisms operate in people.

Learn more: 🔗 https://www.eara.eu/news/tiny-blood-clots-guide-placental-development-in-mice

Research in Germany on pregnant mice showed that tiny blood clots regulate maternal blood flow through the placenta to support healthy development. The placenta supplies the developing baby with oxygen and nutrients and removes waste, while also helping prevent the mother’s immune system from reje...

05/10/2026

We are pleased to welcome Università degli Studi di Verona to EARA! 👏

Check out the full list of EARA members on our website: https://www.eara.eu/members

02/10/2026

Device allows brain research in mice in their natural environments 🐭📡

Researchers in the US have developed a wireless device that can record the brain activity of mice while moving in their natural habitats, allowing the study of complex behaviours that cannot be studied in the lab.

Researchers at Cornell University built a small, hat-shaped implanted device that can record continuously for 3 to 9 hours, logging brain activity alongside behaviours such as locomotion, vocalisations and eye movements.

"Before you could either record neural activity with high resolution in the lab or you could record behaviour in nature - now we can do both," said co-leader Azahara Oliva.

Testing the device on mice in an outdoor enclosure over two weeks allowed researchers to study "place cells" - neurones that become active at specific locations.

Learn more: 🔗 https://www.eara.eu/news/device-allows-brain-research-in-mice-in-their-natural-environments

Researchers in the US have developed a wireless device that can record the brain activity of mice while moving in their natural habitats, allowing the study of complex behaviours that cannot be studied in the lab. Researchers from Cornell University, New York, put together modules to record brain ac...

01/10/2026

Existing drug avoids heart damage in mice caused by chemotherapy 💊❤️

Research from Germany showed that an existing cancer drug could help prevent heart damage caused by a type of chemotherapy in mice. Doxorubicin treats a range of cancers but can cause severe heart disease and failure.

Researchers at EARA member Universität Heidelberg and Heidelberg University Hospital ffound that the drug SAHA (vorinostat) alters gene expression and attenuates this heart damage.

In mice given doxorubicin alongside SAHA, heart function was better maintained over ten weeks compared to mice given doxorubicin alone. This opens new possibilities for protecting the heart during chemotherapy in humans.

Learn more: 🔗 https://www.eara.eu/news/existing-drug-avoids-heart-damage-in-mice-caused-by-chemotherapy

Research from Germany showed that an existing cancer drug could help prevent heart damage caused by a type of chemotherapy in mice. Doxorubicin is a common drug used to treat a variety of cancers, including breast, ovarian, bladder, thyroid, lymphoma, lung and gastric cancers. However, it causes a s...